Diary Of A Startup
David Friend has four successful companies under his belt. Can he make a run with No. 5?
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It's a cold February morning when we catch up with David Friend at the Boston offices of eYak Inc., his telecom services startup. At 7:15 a.m., he's padding about in sweats and sneakers after biking from his home in the city's Back Bay section. He looks very much the i-entrepreneur, with one exception: Friend's 52.
That maturity explains a lot about his serene demeanor, because Friend certainly has plenty to worry about. His nine-month-old company, with 20 employees, has no firm revenue model, no clear marketing plan, and no finished product. The phones aren't working properly, and the week before, someone upstairs moved a radiator that unleashed a flood into eYak's offices.